Is my hammer dying?

[worpdrive]

Hi Folks, Just getting back into this hobby. My hammer doesn't seem to be doing as well as it was. just not a fluffed up anymore. I took it out to check for flatworm or anything like, but see this hole :-( is it dying? how to save it?

 

[griss]

I've never seen anything like that. It's almost like something was boring into it.

 

[worpdrive]

I've never seen anything like that. It's almost like something was boring into it.

yeah that what it looks like. I did a coral dip in case there was something in there. Nothing came out during the dip

 

[griss]

yeah that what it looks like. I did a coral dip in case there was something in there. Nothing came out during the dip

So strange. I assume that hole wasn't there when you purchased it, correct? If so, something appears to be causing the damage. If I had to guess, I'd say some sort of boring worm or an urchin. What inhabitants do you have in your tank? Of course, there could be something that was introduced on live rock that you haven't ever seen. You could try looking at it at night after your lights have been off for a while.

 

[griss]

Here's an old thread about something similar. One poster mentions he had black bugs that were causing the damage. I'm not an LPS keeper so, I really don't have much knowledge/experience with black bugs.

Here's an article about black bugs and how to treat for them.

 

[griss]

Another article I read (lost the link) said this could be caused by a calcium deficiency.